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Friday, April 03, 2009

Cash for the High Street, Samantha's view

Here's Samantha's view on the situation:

How good is it to see Nairn fourth in the list of towns applying for this money. It would be even better for us, and a shot in the eye for H.C. and their abiding interest in Inverness, if we could top that list. All it takes is more Nairn folk to vote and if we did achieve that spot, then it would be something to show the H.C. All it takes is the will of the people. On the subject of how the money could be spent, we need lots of ideas, a Market is good idea and one that should be pursued with or without this money and what about continuing the upgrade of the High Street by doing something about unifying or cleaning up the frontages of all the shops in the Street. There are some beautiful architectural features on shop frontages which are obscured and marred by an ill assorted conglomeration of plastic/wooden hoardings and boarding. Could something not be done to reclaim the architectural beauty of this part of Nairn -maybe some advice from an association with experience in architectural restoration first. Nairn has lost part of its attraction in the last few years, and the fact that Nairn is primarily a Victorian seaside town is now not reflected in its architecture. Also, remember how the town looked during the year of the Walker Cup. Never seen so many happy faces looking at all the stunning and colourful flower and plant arrangements throughout the town. I felt so pleased to be able to recommend Nairn to out-of- towners - the place looked so attractive and welcoming, it was a pleasure to drive up the Inverness Road . Perhaps a fund could be set up to continue this sort of cosmetic but effective approach to making our town look attractive. The business community, being in the thick of of it, should be coming up with ideas about how to improve the High Street, they are the ones who actually dictate the look of it for the most part. The shop windows and frontages are what people see in passing. Collectively, these businesses are what give the instant impression of our High Street. what is their view? And just as importantly, what is the view of the man in the street. Seize the Day people. Don't let this chance pass us by. Don't wait for others to do, heed The Gurn, it is time to get our act together.

UPDATE: News of how others are gearing up to claim the cash. An extract from the Federation of Small Business's newsletter that has been forwarded to the Gurn:

'Town Centre Regeneration FundingThe Scottish Government announced yesterday that their £60 million Town Centre Regeneration Funding is going to be distributed through an application-based process.Now this is all well and good if the funding goes to projects that will have long term economic benefits for Scotland’s town centres and small business community. You can read Andy Willox from the Federation of Small Businesses make this point in the Press and Journal.Since the funding will be distributed to individual projects, it’s important that Scottish FSB branches either prepare their own proposals or get involved in their local communities’ submissions. You can expect other business organisations and community groups might be doing the same.Application packs and final detail on the assessment of applications to the fund are currently being finalised however we’d recommend you find out what plans your local community has to ensure that your town makes the best application for its small businesses. '